GIA Lab Chief Tom Moses to Retire After Nearly 50 Years of Service

Tom Moses, the Gemological Institute of America's Executive Vice President and Chief Laboratory and Research Officer, will step down in May 2026 after nearly 50 years of service that took him from a bench position in Santa Monica to the highest ranks of gemological science worldwide.

Moses joined GIA's Santa Monica laboratory in 1976 after earning his Graduate Gemologist diploma, then moved to New York City to work under Robert Crowningshield, one of the most influential gemologists of the twentieth century. "I will always be grateful to Richard Liddicoat for hiring me and for his selfless guidance, and to Robert Crowningshield, with whom I worked closely for 20 years, for sharing his extraordinary knowledge and for his friendship," Moses said in a statement. "There is no better way to honour their legacy than through continued research that advances our understanding of Earth's treasures."

Over five decades, Moses built a research record that is difficult to overstate: he co-authored more than 100 technical articles for GIA's quarterly journal Gems & Gemology and other peer-reviewed publications. He received the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement in 2002, was elected to GIA's board of governors in 2013, and played a central role in the institute's international expansion, helping position GIA as a global authority in gemological grading and education.

GIA President and CEO Pritesh Patel framed the departure in terms of institutional legacy rather than operational loss. "The rigour Tom brought to grading, the discipline he brought to science, the unwavering focus he brought to our customers and the humility he brought to leadership reflect the very best of what we aspire to be," Patel said. "Fifty years is not simply a measure of time — for GIA, it has been a period of remarkable growth driven by Tom's commitment, curiosity and leadership. His lasting legacy lives in the standards he helped shape and the generations of professionals he guided and inspired."

Moses will remain through the end of May to ensure a smooth handover, a transition both he and GIA say they have been preparing for several years. He will leave his seat on the board of governors when he departs and will be named Chief of Gemological Research, Emeritus, in recognition of his contributions. GIA has stated there are no plans to appoint a direct replacement for his position in the short term. In August 2025, the institute appointed Sriram "Ram" Natarajan as senior vice president of laboratory operations, a move now understood as part of the broader restructuring of GIA's leadership structure.

The absence of a direct successor underscores how fully Moses shaped the role around himself: overseeing global grading laboratories, directing research initiatives, and serving simultaneously as the public face of GIA's scientific credibility. For the trade, his departure marks the end of a grading era built on the precise, exacting standards that the modern diamond and colored stone markets rely upon every time a GIA report changes hands.